Staten Island intersections will be taking turns for the better

Advance file photoDrivers have endured many months of sewer work at Clove Road at Clove Road, near Victory Boulevard.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The first sign of relief is in place
at the traffic-choked intersection of Victory Boulevard and
Clove Road in Sunnyside, where drivers have endured many
months of sewer work.

A new right-turn lane has been carved into the southwestern
sidewalk outside a new storefront. The developer on the
northern corner also has agreed to widen the street, as part
of a $3 million project to redesign the intersection, and
enhance safety, change the signal timing and change curbside
parking regulations, all in an attempt to ease traffic flow.

A mile away, at Victory and Manor Road in Castleton
Corners, plans call for widening Victory from 65 feet to its
intended 100 feet, and Manor from its current 50-foot width
to its mapped 70 feet. The widened roadway will make room
for new turning lanes to help alleviate the bottleneck that
often forms at the narrow intersection.

Manor and Victory is "a 19th-century intersection
dealing with 21st-century traffic," said Michael
Morrell of the Westerleigh Improvement Society. "The
improvement is long overdue. ... We're happy to see it
move forward."

These overhauls are among more than $400 million in
projects planned for Staten Island through 2014, as part of
the city Department of Transportation's capital
program.

OTHER FIXES

In Mariners Harbor, a left-turn lane will go in on South
Avenue heading eastbound toward Forest Avenue, as part of a
half-million-dollar project.

The developer of property at Page Avenue and Amboy Road in
Tottenville is being asked to create a right-turn lane at
that intersection to provide relief before a joint DOT and
DDC road and sewer project kicks off there in 2014.

Huguenot Avenue and Amboy Road in Huguenot could be widened
and given new turning lanes, and the misaligned intersection
of Bradley Avenue and Willowbrook Road/Holden Boulevard is
being considered for potential improvements.

Janette Sadik-Khan and David Burney, commissioners of the
city DOT and Department of Design and Construction, and
Borough President James Molinaro outlined the projects
yesterday at Borough Hall.